Gate-operating means



R; x. WILLIAMS."

GATE OPERATING MEANS- I v APPLICATION FILED Nbv.2, 1921; L l-36,845. Patented N v52s,1922.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E J wuenlioz Robert X .WiUiams R. X. WILLIAMS. GA TE OPERATING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED NOV- 2, I921.

Hubert X .Wiili ams Patented Nov. 28, 1922..

v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

which Patented Nov. 2%, 1.922.

ti N T serene? X. WILLIAMS, or marries, MISSISSIPPI.

GATE-OPERATING MEANS.

Application filed November 2, 1921. Serial No. 512,2d6;

T 0 all w ham it may concern Be it known that I, ROBERT rimmers, a citizen of the United States, residing at Taylor, in the county of Lafayette andv State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gate Operating Means, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to gates and more particularly to means for operating gates.

It is an object of the invention to provide means of? this character capable of being operated at a: considerable distance from the gate, for instance by the occupant of vehi cle, without requiring the occupant to leave the vehicle to either open or close the gate. I

It is another object of the invention to provide means of this character connected to the gate and capable of being operated from either side of the gate.

It is. another object of the invention to provide means of this character embodyiiiig a gate having a pivoted latch member to cables are connected, the cables extending above the gate and to a support spaced from the gate whereby the latch member may be actuated. and the gate opened simultaneously.

It is also an object of the invention to provide gate operating means of this character including a holding member which is dis posed adjacent the hinged end of the. gate andad'apted to engage a portion of the gate when the latter is in its open position to hold said gate open indefinitely.

It; is also an object of the invention to provide means of this character wherein the holdingmem'ber is connected by a cable to support or standard disposed in spaced relation" to the ate, whereby the holding member. may be" actuated to release the gate and permit the gate to swing automatically to its closed position.

It isa further'object' of theinvention to provide means of this character including plurality of: cables connected to a latch member andsupported by a standard a considerable distance above the gate and a standard disposed on either side of the gate whereby a vehicle may. pass beneath the cables without coming, in contact with the same,- and wherein sufficient pull is produced to notonly'actuate the latch but to swing the. gate to its open position,

With these and other object-sin view, the invention consists in the improved construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more particularly described, fully claimed. and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the gate in its open position;

Figure 2 is a front elevation showing the gate in its closed. position.

Figure 3 is a" fragmentary elevation showing the position of the spring for closing the gate.

Figured is a detailed View of the" keeper and guide for the latch member;

Figure 5 is a top plan viewof' the gate structure, the gate being shown in. its closed position;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detailed view of the holding member of the gate;

Figure 7 is a detailed view of the bracket used by the standard or support of the holding member; and

Figure 8 is a detailed view of the bracket used by the standards spaced from the gate.

Referring to the drawings, 5 and 6 des-ig nate gate posts, the post 5 having hinge bolts 7 projecting therefrom, with which the hinge members 8 of the gate 9 are engaged. The postG isprovided with a keeper 10 including the usual rod 11, while disposed above the keeper is a guide member 152, said guide member being inclined upwardly with respect tothe keeper, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described.

The gate 9 may be of any desired type, but for the purpose of illustration a gate including longitudinally extending slats is used. A latch member 18 is pivoted at its end 14; to one end of the gate, the latch member extending longitudinally of the and beyond the opposite end thereof so that the end 15 of the latch member may be engaged with the keeper and extend beyond the keeper 10 of the post 6. When the gate is hein'gmoved to its closed position, the rod 11 of the keeper directs theend 15 of the latch upwardly. In case there should be a tendency for the latch member to stick or remain in its raised position, the guide 12 may urge the keeper downwardly. To assist in the automatic locking of the gate, the latch 13iadjacent its end 15 i'sprov'ided with a weight 16 which constantly urges the latch downwardly. It will also be noted that the latch member 134' is disposeof any length tween two of the slats of the gate, the lower slat limiting downward movement of the latch, while the upper slat limits upward movement of the latch. This eliminates the necessity of providing a plurality of stops for the latch member.

In order to permit the gate to be operated from a distance, there is provided a novel mechanism including an arm or standard 17 which may be made of any desired material. The standard is intended to be disposed to one side of the center of the gate or between the center of the gate and the hinged connection of the gate. The end portion 18 of the standard is secured to the slats of the gate, while the end portion 19 projects above the gate. The last mentioned end portion is substantially skewed or extended to one side as at 20, while the extremity of said-end portion is bifurcated for the reception of a pulley or roller 21.

Located on one side of the gate adjacent the post 6 is a standard 22, which may be desired, while positioned on the opposite side of the gate in spaced relation to the post 5 is a similar standard 23. Secured to each of the standards 22 and 23 is a bracket 24, said bracket consisting of a strip of material bent at its intermediate portion to provide a compartment for the reception of a pulley or roller .25. The bracket is secured to the top of the post and is extended over the side so as to position the roller in spaced relation to the post. A similar standard 26 is disposed on the last mentioned side of the gate closely adjacent the fence post 5. A U-shaped bracket 27 is secured to the top of the post 26, said bracket having pulleys or rollers 28 and 29 mounted therein. A cable 30 is threaded through the bracket of the post 22, around the pulley 29, over the pulley 21, and is connected at its end to the intermediate portion of the latch member 13. The opposite end of the cable is provided with a weight or handle member 31. A cable 32 is threaded through the bracket of the post 23, around the pulley 28. over the pulley 21 and is connected at its end to the latch member 13, similar to the cable 30, a handle member or weight 33 being connected to the opposite end of the cable. By this means the actuating means of the gate. that is the means for opening the gate, are disposed on the left-hand side of each side of the gate, so that the party in an approaching vehicle may grasp the handle at the left-hand side of the vehicle to open the gate by simply pulling on the cable. This causes simultaneous release of the latch member and movement of the gate to its open posltlon.

Connected to the post 5 is a spring 34, said spring extending partially around the post, over one end of the gate and into engagement with a portion of the gate, such as the brace 35. This spring is intended to normally urge the gate to its closed position.

lVhen it is desired to hold the gate in its open position to permit unobstructed passage of a vehicle through the gate opening, there is provided novel holding means comprising a latch or holding member 36, said member having a beveled recess 37 in one end thereof, said end also having a beveled upper face 38 for the purpose of guiding the gate to the recess. The member 36 is'pivoted at its intermediate portion to the side portion of the standard 26, and is intended to be normally overbalanced by a weight 39, or if desired a spring, so as tonormally urge the end or beveled portion 38 upwardly, a suitable stop 40 being disposed beneath the member 36 to limit upward movement of said member. Upon movement of the gate to its open. position the lower surface of the upper rail of the gate comes in contact with the beveled face 38, thereby urging the keeper member downwardly against the tension of the weight 39, and directingthe upper rail of the gate into the recess 37 thereby holding the gate in its open position against the tension of the spring 34. 1

The gate may be released from its open position without requiring the occupant of the vehicle to return to the gate or leave the vehicle. This is accomplished by placing a standard 41 on one side of the gate substantially in alignment with the standard 23 and a second standard 42 on the opposite side of the gate substantially in alignment with the standard 22. Each of the standards 41 andv 42 are provided with one of the brackets 24 including pulleys or rollers. Secured to one face of the standard 26 and beneath the bracket 27 is a bracket 43 provided with a roller 44. A cable 45 is threaded through the bracket of the standard 41, through the bracket 43, over the roller 44, and is connected at its ends to the latch member 36 between the pivotal connection of the latch member and the weight 39. A similar cable 46 is threaded through the bracket of the standard 4-2, through the bracket 43, over the pulley 44, and is connected to the intermediate portion of the keeper 36. lVeights or handle members maybe secured to the opposite endsof each of the cables 45 and 46. Upon movement or pull upon either of the cables 45 and 46 the rear end of the latch member 36 will be raised against the resistance of the weight 39 thereby swinging the latch member downwardly and permitting the spring to urge the gate to its closed position. As soon as the latch member 13 comes in contact with the keeper 10 the latch is raised and disposed in its locked position as previously described.

From the foregoing it will be readily seen that this invention provides a novel and simple form of actuating means for gates of naeesae all descriptions which renders opening and closing of a gate by a person occupying a vehicle very simple and at the same time may be actuated by a pedestrian Without requiring operation of the cables unless deslred, and as its parts are few and substantial there is no danger of the actuating means getting out of order for a considerable length of time.

lVhat is claimed is:

Gate operating means of the character described comprising a gate post, a gate pivoted to the post for swinging movement a gate. standard secured to the central portion of the gate in parallel relation to the gate post, the upper portion of the standard extending above the top of the gate said up per end portion of the standard being skewed in the direction of the gate post and having its extremity bifurcated for the reception of a pulley, a latch bar pivoted at one end to one end of the gate, said latch bar extending longitudinally of: the gate, a line connected to the latch bar adjacent the standard, said line extending upwardly parallel to the standard and over the pulley of the standard, and a line post disposed adjacent the gate post, said line post substantially coinciding with the gate standard When the gate is in its open position, the bifurcated end portion of the standard extending above the upper end of the line post, a pulley carried by the line post and adapted to be engaged by the line leading from the pulley of the standard, said skewed portion of the gate standard facing the line post to position the pulley of the gate standard ment with the pulley of the line post at all times.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

ROBERT X. WILLIAMS.

substantially in align-. 

